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He did this.
Maybe the boy who mowed into me wasn’t so innocent as he might have had me believe.
A fresh wave of anger surges through me as I try to get to my hands and knees, retching as my fingers slide through all sorts of food waste. Of course it just had to be spaghetti and meatball day, the bright red pasta sauce is smeared all over my white shirt and smattered in my hair.
I look like something out of a crime scene. I don’t even want to think about what else is mixed in there.
Retching again, I manage to clamber to my feet, every single person in the cafeteria staring at me as if they’ve never seen someone covered in cafeteria food before.
My lips purse as I try my best to pick off the dead spaghetti and slimy, congealed bits of sauce.
“Well, that’s one way to take out the trash,” one of Keeley’s friends says loudly enough that at least half the room overhears.
I grit my teeth at her, a low growl bubbling inside me.
God, I hate this place. I hate the people and the—
“Raine?”
I whirl around to find the redhead—Abi, I think—staring at me with a mix of sympathy and pity.
“Come on, let’s go get you cleaned up.”
“I can manage.”
“But I want to help.”
“Why?” I spit the word, barely aware of the regret pinching my heart. I’m so angry and embarrassed, I can barely see straight.
“Because we all need a friend sometimes. And because I don’t want to see them win.” She flicks her head over to where the Heir chasers stand gawking at us.
Me.
I should tell her that I don’t want or need her help. But I don’t. Instead, I follow her out of the cafeteria with my head held high, the whispers and laughter nipping at my heels.
“Is this a trick?” I ask once we’re in the hall.
“What?” She glances back at me, confusion crinkling her eyes.
“Well, you’re friends with them, aren’t you? Tally and Olivia?”
“Yes, but… you think I’m one of them.” A soft sigh slips from her lips.
“Aren’t you?”
“I’m friends with them, yes. But… it’s complicated.”
“Because they’re going out with Heirs?” I hate the way the word sounds rolling off my tongue.
It’s so stupid. And yet, no one intervened just now. Not the teachers dotted around the room or the lunch ladies.
Not anyone except Abi.
I guess that has to count for something.
“Keeley Davis is a scheming bitch,” I spit.
“You’re not wrong there. The Heir chasers can be… brutal.”
